C peters



. (No Model.)

T. P. TIMBY.

POTATO MASHER.

No. 357.693. PatentedFeb. 15,1887.

A amwxm IL PETERS, PMoLifluognphor. Wllhington. D. G

NITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

THEODORE F. TIMBY, OF BROOKLYN, NEW YORK.

POTATO- MASH ER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 35'7,693, dated February 15, 1887.

Application filed July 11, 1885.

To allwhom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, THEODORE F. TIMBY, a citizen of the United States, residing at Brooklyn, in the county of Kings, New York, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Potato-Mashers, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to that class of do mestic utensils commonly known as potatomashers, used for mashing cooked vegetablessuch as potatoesfor table use, and for reducing toa pulp fruits forjellies, jams, and marmalades.

It relates to that kind of potato-mashers made wholly or in part of wire; and it consists in certain novel features of construction, hereinafter specified, for the accomplishment of the follow objects, viz., first, to provide for increased and more rapid evaporation of moisture from freshly-cooked vegetables while the same are being mashed, and by the same means to facilitate thoroughly cleansing the masher; and, secondly, to provide for thoroughly mashing vegetables or fruit in vessels having either concave or flat bottoms.

Asheet ofdrawings accompanies this specification as part thereof.

Figure 1 of these drawings is an end or face view of my improved potato-masher, and Fig. 2 is a side view thereof.

In each of the figures A represents a pcculiarly-formed mashing disk or head, B B a converging pair of inclined stems, and O a suitable handle inclosing a tang, t, common to said stems, whereby the parts are thoroughly united. Said head, stems, and tang are formed by a single continuous piece of suitable wire, which may be either round or fiat. A straight piece of wire of proper length is held at mid length,and its respective ends are coiled in one and the same direction until the head A is formed of the required diameter. Then from diametrically-opposite points the stems B B are bent at right angles with reference to the wire, and so as to converge as aforesaid; and, finally, the extremities of the wire are twisted together to form the tang t, which-is inserted in the bore of the handle 0 in customary manner. The head A, so formed, has two helical openings, o 0 Fig. 1, through which, in mashing hot potatoes or the like, the mass rises, so to speak, at each depression of the masher in self-supporting thin helical columns, exposing a large area of surface to the air, which Serial No. 171,377. (No model.)

provides for the rapid and increased evaporation of moisture therefrom. At the same time the wire of the head cuts down in intermediate paths and effectively accomplishes the work of mashing or pulping the substance acted on. Said helical openings 0 0 extending continuously from the center of the head outward, as seen in Fig. l, and having practically unobstructed outer ends, 6 e, facilitate thoroughly cleansing the masher by their limited number (two) and by providing for emptying each of them by an easy helical movement of the end of afinger or the like inserted at the inner end of the opening.

To adapt the masher to work in a vessel having either a concave or a flat bottom, the head Ais, furthermore, formed with a convex face, f, Fig. 2, which conforms it to convex bottoms, while the resiliency of the wire adapts it to flatten upon flat bottoms, and thus come fully into contact therewith.

' I am aware that the broad idea of making a potato-masher of wire to the same extent as mine is old, and I hereby disclaim this feature. I also disclaim as old'the broad idea of so making a potato-masher composed wholly of a suitable handle and a single piece of wire, and the broad idea of forming the mashingdisk by coiling the wire.

I claim as my invention, and desire to patent under this specification 1. In a potatomasher composed of a suitable handle and a single piece of wire, a mashing disk or head in the form of two helical coils connected with each other at the center of the head, connected at their outer ends with stems diametrically opposite each other, and forming a pair of unobstructed helical openings with open outer ends, whereby thoroughly cleansing the head is facilitated, substantially as herein described.

2. An improved potato-masher having an elastic mashing disk or head of wire in the form of two helical coils connected with each other at the center of the head, and connected at their outer ends with stems converging therefrom to the handle, said head having a convex face, as herein specified, for the purpose set forth.

THEODORE F. TIMBY.

\Vitnesses:

WILLIAM H. LUsK, SAML. O, RocKWnLL. 

